Betrayal, revenge, murder, demons and monsters in human skin - these are all the themes that run through the stories of Kaori Yuki published in the Kingdom of the Gravel volume . In this collection of relatively short comics, the author takes the reader on four journeys to the disturbing worlds she has created.
Contrasts
In their own way, each story confronts darkness and evil with some good – love, faithfulness or sacrifice. This contrast is not equally marked everywhere, but it can be seen. Despite the presence of positive messages, the overtone of this volume is rather sad and disturbing.
Older songs
Both the Kingdom of Gravel and the other pieces in the collection come from the early stage of the author’s work. These are not her first steps as a mangaka, but you can see a slight lack of experience. However, this does not mean that the stories presented are uninteresting. Kaori Yuki was already at this stage of her career able to compose fascinating stories that are definitely worth reading.
The poorest of the entire collection is the oldest of the pieces – Chłopcy, stopped time , dating from 1990. The idea for this story itself is not bad and with a little refinement, you could get a lot more from it, but in the presented form it stands out a bit from the rest, which is simply more addictive.
Gravel kingdom
The title piece is the longest and covers almost half of the volume. It is distinguished from the entire collection by the level of refinement of the presented world. Its very concept is quite interesting and could easily be used as a background for a longer story. The action takes place in the Realm of Time surrounded by a desert. We learn that the sand slowly but steadily absorbed new areas and countries, and the heroes’ place of life was not the last to be buried. In this world, Kaori Yuki tells a tale of power, betrayal and revenge.
The visual side
The manga is drawn really nice. The following frames are aesthetic, and the title works of each story are eye-catching. At times, it is true that you notice that the shades of hair change slightly between frames, but this is not a significant problem while reading. The volume looks very neat. The soft cover is packed in a colorful dust jacket.
Summary
As a whole, this volume has a rather heavy feel to it. As mentioned above, not all stories are equally grim or difficult, but there are elements in each of them. In this respect, the most distinguished collection is Cruel Fairy Tales , which have the darkest atmosphere. Three of the four stories are really interesting and, despite the slight technical shortcomings, keep the reader entertained.
